The Key By Sarah Salman

Sarah Salman z3418353@zmail.unsw.edu.au

FADE IN EXT. TRAIN STATION - MORNING It is a grim, cold morning. Standing on a train platform is a young man in his early twenties with an over sized backpack and headphones in. He wears black framed glasses. Mist appears in front of his face as he breathes out into the cool morning chill. He stands with his shoulders slightly hunched, obviously cold. It is early morning rush hour so the platform is fairly crowded with people waiting for the train. A train speeds past, the wind flutters newspapers, hair and jackets. Once it passes everything is still again. A few minutes later a train very slowly pulls into the station and stops at the platform. Its exterior is dull and Grey, looking very old and tired, with dark windows. A small amount of smoke sneaks through the cracks between the train and the platform towards the rear of the train. No one notices, as there is a rush to board. INT. TRAIN CARRIAGE Inside the train, the carriage is dim and most of the seats are filled. Our young man awkwardly slips into a seat in the far back. The cheap seat covering squeaks as he sits. His legs are long and cramped in the space between the seat in front. The train makes a grinding noise as it shifts into motion. A passenger next to our character is sitting too comfortably listening to music far too loud and flipping through the pages in a comic book. A baby cries from somewhere in the carriage, a woman talks on the phone and a pair of school kids are kicking each others shoes. Our young man clutches his over sized bag in his lap, watching everyone. He is visibly distressed from being in the confined and crowded space. On the other end of the carriage, a young girl stands obviously looking for something. She holds her bag close to her side and fiddles with the chain around her neck. After a few brief moments she seems to stop looking around for something and hurries through the aisle, past our young man. He watches her curiously. There is a clinking sound as she passes, seconds later she is gone through the doors into the next carriage.

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The young man searches for something else to watch, he notices something silvery on the floor by his foot. With difficulty, he bends down to pick it up expecting it to be a coin. Instead he holds up a key with a chain through the hole in the middle. Its an old antique looking silver key with a pattern on it resembling crawling vines. The key isnt jagged like a modern key, but instead is a skeleton key with a long and thin shaft, the vines crawling around it with a leaf sticking out to one side on the end. He turns it over in his hands admiring the work on it. Its unusual and worn in places. The chain looping through the hole slips out and lands in his lap. He realises it is the same as the chain that was hanging around the girls neck. Turning around to see where she went he finds no sign of her. Clutching the key in his hand, he struggles to wriggle out of his seat with his large bag and heads in the direction the girl went, through the doors and into the next carriage. He reaches up and takes out his headphones, searching for any sign of the girl that had just run past. All the seats are filled and there is no sign of her, so he walks through the aisle and towards the next carriage. Opening the door to the next carriage, a small amount of smoke, creeps up through the cracks in the floor. Our man fans it away from his face and in the space in front of him in order to find the handle to enter the next carriage. It squeaks as he turns it, and jams slightly. With a light push it opens and he walks through. This carriage is almost empty compared to the others. Only a few seats are filled. He scans them looking for the girl. A balding man sits with his newspaper and a young woman is tapping on an iPad. Neither of them look up. An elderly lady sitting with her handbag on her lap smiles at him. He sighs, and begins walking through. Determined to find this girl. He glances down at the key in his hand and turns it over once. TRAIN INSTRUCTOR(V.O.): Attention all passengers. the train is now arriving at Queen Street Station. Next stop Grand Oak Station.

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EXT. TRAIN STATION 2 The train stops, its breaks grinding it to a halt. The doors leading to the platform open and our character sticks his head out looking to see if the girl gets off. The platform is crowded as he turns both ways. People are getting off and on and more smoke creeps up through the gap. A light drizzle of rain has started. He is now just two cars from the end. No sign of the girl he slips back inside. The doors close and the brakes of the train squeak as it starts moving again. INT. TRAIN CARRIAGE He reaches the exit door of the carriage and twists the handle. It doesnt move. He jiggles it a little and a small amount of rust flakes away as it finally turns with more force. Reaching for the next handle, he twists and it opens easily. A puzzled look crosses his face. The carriage he enters is for the girl, there is no the end of the car reads: persons." Glancing at the around to head back. crowded again. Scanning the seats sign of her anywhere. The sign at "Drivers car. No unauthorised key again, he sighs and turns

A few people in the carriage look up at him as he passes back through the way he came. He walks on with his head down pretending not to notice. Reaching for the door handle, it turns easily and he steps through. Smoke is everywhere now. Fanning it away, he coughs and tries to find the next handle. He takes his glasses off and tries to clean them with his sleeve. He finds the handle but it refuses to turn. He shakes it gently, fanning some of the smoke around his hand away so it becomes slightly visible. A few specks of rust crumble away as he attempts to twist the handle. He attempts to force it open with his shoulder. The door doesnt move. He reaches for his shoulder with his other hand and rubs it. He grimaces and flinches. They key drops from his hand. He shakes it and opens and closes his fist a few times. The smoke at his feet is thick. Through it he sees a bright blue glowing light. He bends down and reaches for it. He holds the key in his hand and it glows bright blue in the cracks between the vines as he holds it up by the chain, staring at it as it illuminates the surrounding smoke.

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Slowly fanning away the smoke. A small blue light begins to glow just below the door handle and he bends down to look closer. The surrounding of the key hole has a similar vine pattern looping around. He holds up the key next to the hole and they both glow brighter. He pokes the key and it swings from its chain gently. Grabbing it to stop it swaying he slowly and cautiously puts it in the key hole and turns the key. A click sound is heard and he removes it, gripping it tightly in one hand, reaches for the handle and turns. It opens easily and he slowly pushes the door open. INT. TRAIN CARRIAGE 2 A warm yellow light floods into the dark smoky entry. Its blinding for a few seconds and he squints slightly and places his hand out in front to cover the brightness slightly. At eye level is a very large crystal chandelier with hundreds of candles. A wooden banister and rich red carpeted floor are in front of him. He takes a step inside slowly and immediately the door slams shut. He turns suddenly and where there should have been a dingy grey metal door with a rusty handle, now stands a rich oak one with heavy metal vine work trailing around the lock and handle. He reaches for the door slowly and hesitantly, smoothing a hand over it. He glances at the key which is no longer glowing bright blue, but instead is back to its worn out silver. He turns back to the chandelier and looks to his left. A wooden oak staircase is curling around the edge of the wall heading upwards. The red carpet trails up the stairs fading to a deep purple. A sign at the top of the stairs has a similar vine pattern that reads: "library". To his right is another staircase to a lower floor. The red carpet blends to a rich green. Taking a very cautious step forward he cranes his neck to look over the banister at what lies below. A large circular floor lay beneath, with random tables and chairs scattered about. Armchairs are places around several fireplaces. People are sitting alone and in groups chatting and drinking coffee. Some are dressed in business attire, others in casual clothing. A small murmuring can be heard. He walks to the right, heading down the flight of wooden stairs. He pauses for a few moments and looks back at the wooden door. He eventually reaches the bottom and a middle aged woman heads towards him wearing a black pencil skirt and silk top. She fiddles with a set of keys on a keyring. A silver key identical to the one he found is among them. She separates an identical one, only in gold. He stands staring at the crowd of people sitting at tables. As she passes him she says:

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WOMAN: Put that key somewhere safe. You dont want to lose it in here or youll never get in again. She smiles as she walks past and starts heading up the stairs the way he had just come. He holds the key up by the chain again staring at it and quickly puts it back in his pocket. TRAIN INSTRUCTOR(V.O.): Attention all passengers, the train is now arriving at Grand Oak Station. This is the final stop for this service. All out please. Everyone begins to gather their belongings and head towards the stairs. They all file out the large oak door. Before long he is the only one left in this large open space. He wanders through the maze of tables and chairs. Looking up at the large chandelier and the floor above. He heads up the stairs again and continues up the the library. Trailing his fingers along the spines of the hundreds of books lining the walls. He picks one, flicks through the pages quickly and snaps it shut. He checks his watch and is stunned into action. He races down the stairs to the large oak door, book still in hand and reaches for the handle on the wooden door. It refuses to turn. He reaches into his pocket for the key, places it in the key hole and tries to turn. It glows a bright red and refuses to move. He tries the other way. Nothing happens. He pulls it out and holds it up. It stops glowing red. He tried to shake it, looking obviously more distressed. He looks around the large room again. There is definitely no one there. Panicked now he turns back to the door and bangs on it a few times with his fists. He presses his ear against the cool oak and listens for any movement outside. He hears the faint sound of the brakes shifting the train into motion. There is a slight vibrating coming from the door. He moves his face away and stares at it. The vines around the handle disappear slowly and the wood around the edge seals itself. Where there was once a large oak door now stands nothing but a blank wall. He turns and leans his back against the wall looking defeated. He slides down to the floor with his knees against his chest and drops his head. Out of the corner of his eye he sees a shiny pair of black oxfords. Someone has approached him in the deserted carriage. He looks up to see a medium built man in a black suit, white shirt and tie. The (CONTINUED)

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cufflinks on his sleeve are a small version of the key he holds in his hand. The man smiles and says: MAN: About time you turned up. FADE TO BLACK THE END.